Andrew McGahon from SevereMMA standing alongside... - Ask Me Anything

SDTimeout

Thought this would be cool. Was talking to someone at an IrishMMA event who asked why I don't post on boards anymore, then it made me realise that nobody from the local scene unfortunately does that much. They suggested I do something like this, now I always thought they're a bit dickheadish but maybe you've wondered what food they serve backstage at UFCs. I can answer information like this, maybe it will convince other people to do them in the future. Who knows .

If the mods don't want it here then please delete.

Letree

Which mma fighter is biggest ego/dick you have met at these shows or maybe you can't say as you will want to interview them at some stage.

SDTimeout

Letree wrote: »

Which mma fighter is biggest ego/dick you have met at these shows or maybe you can't say as you will want to interview them at some stage.

It's weird. Fighters can't be held to themselves fight week when they're cutting weight and going through a range of emotions .I thought whiteford was incredibly arrogantat the media day when he came out with the shades, then you talk to him pre and post fight and he is one of the nicest guys there is to talk ton.

Uriah Hall was a bit tense the first two minutes or so then it turned out to be one of the best interviews I've felt I've ever done. So it's weird!

scudzilla

What's your favourite type of cheese?

John_D80

Thanks a mil for this. Should be good craic.

Can you honestly see any of the current Irish fighters in the UFC ever challenging for or even winning a title?? (Except McG obviously!!)

Is SevereMMA your full time job or do you work outside of it as well??

What other MMA journo's do you admire??

SDTimeout

scudzilla wrote: »

What's your favourite type of cheese?

Me and cheese have a love hate relationship .

riffmongous

SDTimeout wrote: »

Thought this would be cool. Was talking to someone at an IrishMMA event who asked why I don't post on boards anymore, then it made me realise that nobody from the local scene unfortunately does that much. They suggested I do something like this, now I always thought they're a bit dickheadish but maybe you've wondered what food they serve backstage at UFCs. I can answer information like this, maybe it will convince other people to do them in the future. Who knows .

If the mods don't want it here then please delete.

I thought you were referring to the boards posters here for a second, and that's why you dont post here anymore :pac:

I'd like to ask what you think about the Shill 'Em All series of articles on cagepotatoe, but maybe it's best you don't answer it

Letree

In the flesh who is the best looking Miesha Tate or Rhonda Rousey.

ASOT

What's your opinion on Aldo bizarre drug test scenario?

JokerD

Can I come along if you interview McGregor in Vegas in December ? I'll be in Vegas

Zero-Cool

Is there any current UFC fighter you haven't interviewed yet but would really like to?

Was that you asking questions at the Mir Duffee post fight press conference? Do you very to many US events?

Also, well done to servere mma, always great interviews and very professional unlike A LOT of other mainstream Irish media

Paully D

Has Gareth A Davies ever tried to make love to you?

SDTimeout

John_D80 wrote: »

Thanks a mil for this. Should be good craic.

Can you honestly see any of the current Irish fighters in the UFC ever challenging for or even winning a title?? (Except McG obviously!!)

Is SevereMMA your full time job or do you work outside of it as well??

What other MMA journo's do you admire??

Yep. I can see Duffy and Holohan being there or there about's at the top of their divisions. Seery could even get himself into the top 5. I think 125 is such a light division numbers wise that a good run and lack of challengers can see them put into a high profile fight sooner rather than later. Paddy and Neil have different career paths though, I can see Neil being happy being matched for fights that will be exciting as opposed to one that might be boring but closer to title.

It's not, during the summer I've been DJing every saturday in a place out the road from me, and i work in a nightclub in dundalk taking photos. I don't really know if I ever want Severe to be my full time job though, I train full time in BJJ and I love it more than anything, being able to get up in the mornings and train is what keeps me going. My schedule is pretty full to the point of Sunday's being my only down time and even then I'm usually doing something. It's tough but I love it a lot.

Ariel was the reason I got into it, then I noticed nobody was doing it in Ireland so started to do audio interviews. Then I met the Severe guys at a Cage Contender, at the next one we hooked up and have been with them almost 3 years now. So he is a big influence, he actually got me press creds for my first UFC in Boston as Severe wasn't as big of a site internationally as it is now. So he stuck his head out and put his name to me that I was worth letting in. I'll always be thankful for that. It's weird though, I would have spent a long time looking up to a lot of people, now by some people I'm considered on their level or I deserve to be there. It's humbling and freaky at the same time and I'm having a hard time adjusting to it being honest. Greg Savage and Jordan Breen from Sherdog are two guys I really like though and Jeremy Botter from Bleacher Report.

SDTimeout

riffmongous wrote: »

I thought you were referring to the boards posters here for a second, and that's why you dont post here anymore :pac:

I'd like to ask what you think about the Shill 'Em All series of articles on cagepotatoe, but maybe it's best you don't answer it

never heard of them but just read the 189 tour there. I think a lot of interesting stuff will be coming out about that in the next few months. Especially considering Dana tweeted how happy he was USA Today were giving them coverage with out having to be paid for it. ( something along those lines)

SDTimeout

Letree wrote: »

In the flesh who is the best looking Miesha Tate or Rhonda Rousey.

I have seen neither in the flesh and for fear of this one day being beaten up by whoever I put in second place I'll sidestep this gracefully.

John_D80

Wow, never realised you are full-time training. Living the dream!! I have seen a few of your matches on youtube.

Are you sponsored? If yes by whom and do you think the fact that you are so well known helped you secure sponsorship. Not that you wouldnt have got it anyway of course!! :-)

SDTimeout

ASOT wrote: »

What's your opinion on Aldo bizarre drug test scenario?

I just think all of it is funny to be honest. They're gonna fight eventually and the result will be in the record books regardless. The report that came out yesterday of the Brazilian Drug Tester asking Aldo for a pic and an autograph doesn't surprise me. They've always cheered , clapped and chanted for fighters at events their covering. I think Dana could have handled it a little better to be honest but the most important thing is there's going to be more testing out of comp now leading up to this fight in December and hopefully it actually happens!

SDTimeout

JokerD wrote: »

Can I come along if you interview McGregor in Vegas in December ? I'll be in Vegas

When I talk to Conor in December it will more than likely be after work outs and in a scrum with 100 other people haha. The UFC are strict enough on their 1 on 1's these days, also no fighter should have to do countless interviews on a fight week so I'm ok with it. Megan Olivi will get one to go through the UFC Youtube and Ariel will get one for the fox deal. It's about optimising views really. Hopefully I'll get one with Conor sometime before the fight but who knows when he will be home!

JokerD

SDTimeout wrote: »

When I talk to Conor in December it will more than likely be after work outs and in a scrum with 100 other people haha. The UFC are strict enough on their 1 on 1's these days, also no fighter should have to do countless interviews on a fight week so I'm ok with it. Megan Olivi will get one to go through the UFC Youtube and Ariel will get one for the fox deal. It's about optimising views really. Hopefully I'll get one with Conor sometime before the fight but who knows when he will be home!

Worth a try;) I got to get my photo with him after the open workouts at 189. He was so nice and had so much time for the fans.

SDTimeout

Zero-Cool wrote: »

Is there any current UFC fighter you haven't interviewed yet but would really like to?

Was that you asking questions at the Mir Duffee post fight press conference? Do you very to many US events?

Also, well done to servere mma, always great interviews and very professional unlike A LOT of other mainstream Irish media

Zero-Cool wrote: »

Is there any current UFC fighter you haven't interviewed yet but would really like to?

Was that you asking questions at the Mir Duffee post fight press conference? Do you very to many US events?

Also, well done to servere mma, always great interviews and very professional unlike A LOT of other mainstream Irish media

Yeah there are to be honest. I'd really like to be able to sit down and talk to Kron Gracie. I know he isn't in the UFC but he is one of my heroes. They say never meet your heroes and idols etc but CM Punk was another who i grew up a fan of then I was able to talk to in Vegas, for me that's one of the best even though it was in a scrum format.

As for current UFC fighters I'd like to talk to Jorge Masvidal to tell him how much I liked Miami Hustle and either of the Diaz's.

It wasn't me it was Niall McGrath from talking brawls. I was planning on heading to San Diego with our photographer Dave and train down there and get to Kron's gym but then the Irish guys got added to the Glasvegas card so that took priority.

Thank you for that too man, I really never consider it to be too professional haha, i just try not to be a dick or say stuff that could get me in massive trouble on camera. It's not an interview it's just a chat. if it wasn't for boards.ie and paul cowzer saying "You don't even train" then I wouldn't be where I am at all today, so it's cool.

SDTimeout

Paully D wrote: »

Has Gareth A Davies ever tried to make love to you?

GAD got a lot of stick over that to be fair, he's actually a really nice guy in person but he seems to be massively hated online. I figured he was going to do it again some time over the week so I was ready to spit verbal fire at him when he tried it on the Pendred interviews. He wants some of that Severe MMA hits :cool:

SDTimeout

John_D80 wrote: »

Wow, never realised you are full-time training. Living the dream!! I have seen a few of your matches on youtube.

Are you sponsored? If yes by whom and do you think the fact that you are so well known helped you secure sponsorship. Not that you wouldnt have got it anyway of course!! :-)

I say full time, It's about 15-20 hours a week depending on the schedule. I don't think i will ever really be full time because i've radio stuff on a tuesday and work other nights so it means I miss some morning sessions etc but yeah. I train as much as I can during the week with as many different people. Hopefully if i LOST at least they were exciting because I find competing in BJJ is just a way for me to express myself and the jiujitsu I've learned from my coach. You might as well be there to entertain the people, maybe not popular but I'd rather flying triangle two guys in a sub only comp then lose in an exciting match than win 4 matches in over time and get a gold medal

No sponsorship, I think I'll be shot for trying to get one for BJJ instead of getting one for Severe which is where it would be better put to use. There is a running joke in my gym that I'll get it for BJJ through SevereMMA but I don't think I'd be in any sort of contention for it to be honest, I'm happy wearing whatever i think looks nice haha

SDTimeout

JokerD wrote: »

Worth a try;) I got to get my photo with him after the open workouts at 189. He was so nice and had so much time for the fans.

this.

i think it's one of the best things about Conor as a champion to be honest, the time he takes for the fans at those events are crazy. I genuinely feel he is blown away by his own success and how much he means to so many people

vapor trails

What's your gate/ PPV's estimate for UFC 194 if it goes ahead as planned? Do they need something else to go with Aldo / Mc to try and break a record ? Finally do you think the CM punk /Pendred tiff is suspiciously perfectly coinciding with today's announcement ?

Paully D

Any good stories to tell from the inevitable sessions etc that you media lads get up to when you're away?

SDTimeout

vapor trails wrote: »

What's your gate/ PPV's estimate for UFC 194 if it goes ahead as planned? Do they need something else to go with Aldo / Mc to try and break a record ? Finally do you think the CM punk /Pendred tiff is suspiciously perfectly coinciding with today's announcement ?

i believe that Conor will continue to break records for his fights, his rise is unparalleled and meteoric a unification bout with Aldo doesn't need a co main I think. At least not to the level of Ronda or Chris i think.

CM Punk / Pendred thing is hilarious on all levels. I wouldn't be surprised to see Punk debut on a McGregor card though so that's something that could be a storyline.

SDTimeout

Paully D wrote: »

Any good stories to tell from the inevitable sessions etc that you media lads get up to when you're away?

I don't drink myself but I enjoy the banter after the fights. It's probably better I don't tell most of the stories out of fear but there is a good few i can share.

In London at one of the events this guy was with a few of us telling us he trained in Mjolnir and he got his blue in 6 months and how he would have gotten out of Gunnar's Gullotine from that night. Someone put him in one and he ended up going to sleep and ****ting himself, he left his jaco hoody there too which I claimed after he left.

Also another time the Mjolnir guys had a bottle of chilli vodka, it seemed to be the equivalent of them old bottles with skulls and crossbones and 3 X's on it. They would pass it around and the look on peoples faces when they drank from it was brilliant.

Walking around various cities at 4/5 in the morning like Boston and Vegas is always cool though. I feel very very lucky that I am able to travel and attend these events and witness literal history unfold infront of my eyes. It's scary but from talking to them so much and listening to them so much as well as hearing a lot of high profile BJJ guys talk about goal setting, positive thinking and being appreciative and greatful for what you have. I've started to live my life that way too, it's working out for me anyway the law of attraction is very powerful. I'm heading away tomorrow on a trip for coverage that I'm basing down to luck and the law of attraction.

SevereMMA

Why do you always dress like Mick Foley?

Mellor

Any jobs going for a southern hemisphere correspondent?

John_D80

Whats your opinion of the UFC FN76 (Poirier/Duffy) card as it stands at the moment with the fights that have been announced so far??Obviously a card cant be fully judged until after its over but do you think the UFC has perhaps diluted the quality because they know it will be so well supported?

Do you have any inside info on whats going on with Cage Warriors? If you were Graham Boylan, what would you do with it?

Lenin Skynard

Where's Sean?!?!?!

stephenl15

Not a question but just wanted to say massive respect to you and all the severe guys. Even if it isn't your full time job being able to go to all the events which you enjoy so much must be amazing. And you've done a really good job in gaining pretty much international status. I must say I'm envious of you guys, being on the inside and being able to see everything for yourself and whatnot :P Keep it up

bjj-fighter

Can I have your autograph?

darced

This post has been deleted.

SDTimeout

Mellor wrote: »

Any jobs going for a southern hemisphere correspondent?

Depends on how good you can rock the red and black flannel shirt.

I'm fascinated by Australia though, I have relatives who live there now and apparently there are a lot of SevereMMA fans down under who use us to keep in touch with all things MMA which is nice. I've heard even people saying they listen to the podcast with friends in Australia because they get to hear voices which remind them of home.

I'd also like to do something in the future on Irish MMA fighters who have emigrated and are competing else where. I know there's guys fighting in Canada and Richie Ivory made weight today for an MMA fight in Oz which is really cool

SDTimeout

John_D80 wrote: »

Whats your opinion of the UFC FN76 (Poirier/Duffy) card as it stands at the moment with the fights that have been announced so far??Obviously a card cant be fully judged until after its over but do you think the UFC has perhaps diluted the quality because they know it will be so well supported?

Do you have any inside info on whats going on with Cage Warriors? If you were Graham Boylan, what would you do with it?

I've been saying since last year the next Dublin card would seem weaker because it's what the UFC usually do with their European places. The cards get weaker and they want to gauge how much interest there still will be in their cards. At least that's the vibe I get, then again there's been some good fights announced for Dublin and I think the card in itself will deliver. You're 100% right the Three Arena will sell out in minutes again and that's all the UFC worry about. Now if a Croke Park situation comes about, expect that to be a stacked card, the most stacked in EMEA history.

No idea with Cage Warriors, thankfully Irish Pros are getting matched around the country now and we're seeing more pro fights on cards that would have been exclusively amatuer in the last few years with so many signed to CW. So for me, whatever Graham does it will be interesting to see. The announcement puzzled me though, I would have thought it made more sense to announce when they had concrete plans in place to get a show on asap.

SDTimeout

Lenin Skynard wrote: »

Where's Sean?!?!?!

I get this a lot, we will be together in person at BAMMA. He thinks he is going to be holding some kind of autograph signing.

SDTimeout

stephenl15 wrote: »

Not a question but just wanted to say massive respect to you and all the severe guys. Even if it isn't your full time job being able to go to all the events which you enjoy so much must be amazing. And you've done a really good job in gaining pretty much international status. I must say I'm envious of you guys, being on the inside and being able to see everything for yourself and whatnot :P Keep it up

I'm replying to you on my first ever expenses paid trip from Bahrain so thank you very much. The support we get from people at home is brilliant and what keeps us going. To be honest I often think to myself what if it all goes wrong, We've gotten this far it would be embarrassing if we didn't go the full way. I guess it's human nature. Not sure about international status I'm still trying to shake the Irish Ariel Helwani tag but I'll get there!

SDTimeout

bjj-fighter wrote: »

Can I have your autograph?

The oddest thing that's happened me since all of this starting was someone ringing me when they were on holidays and used me to try and pull some girls from Dundalk that were on holidays the same place as the two lads who rang me.

Don't suppose you know anything about that ? :pac::pac:

Mellor

SDTimeout wrote: »

Depends on how good you can rock the red and black flannel shirt.

I'm fascinated by Australia though, I have relatives who live there now and apparently there are a lot of SevereMMA fans down under who use us to keep in touch with all things MMA which is nice. I've heard even people saying they listen to the podcast with friends in Australia because they get to hear voices which remind them of home.

I'd also like to do something in the future on Irish MMA fighters who have emigrated and are competing else where. I know there's guys fighting in Canada and Richie Ivory made weight today for an MMA fight in Oz which is really cool

I use SevereMMA quite a bit to keep up with irish news, interviews with irish fighters on the UFC undercard etc.
There's definitely a few irish guys getting involve in MMA out here. If you interested in guys at amateur level, I know of a one who'd definitely be interested. (Potentially fighting in October)
Also, Australian UFC Welterweight, Richie Walsh. His parents emigrated from Ireland. He used to carry a tricolour out to his early fights.

SDTimeout

darced wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Niche market i guess. If you're trying to make a living and you get black listed by the people who drive the most content to your website (UFC) for example then you're never gonna get anywhere. It seems a lot of guys in the US are at a point now where they can speak openly about the UFC and not fear repercussions because they are bigger than it. I'd like to think I haven't been dictated by any of the above.

We weren't made to take down anything though, we were asked to take it down and to be honest looking back maybe it wasn't the smartest idea for me to interview a teenager moments after a fight that ended controversially. How many of us have said or felt things in the heat of the moment and then felt like an idiot when it all calmed down. If we were all able to detach ourselves emotionally from situations like that then it's fair, but for this example I think looking back we made the wrong call.

I'd ask him about fighter pay to be honest, if it's true Ronda makes more from endorsements than fighting then she is being horribly under paid.

I've actually got a good triangle, that man is just the untriangleable man

Mellor

Mellor wrote: »

Also, Australian UFC Welterweight, Richie Walsh. His parents emigrated from Ireland. He used to carry a tricolour out to his early fights.

Axwell

Don't have any questions just wanted to say well done on the work with Severe and continuing to grow the brand and promote MMA. Its great to have such a well run site associated with Irish MMA and you guys to be getting continuing success from it. Always makes me laugh when there's a post event press conference and Dana asking for the next question and hearing a Dundalk accent somewhere in the room thats usually full of americans. Keep up the good work and all the best with it.

Petermc83

Hey Andrew, i met you at the 189 expo before your fight at the Reebok stand where we ripped the **** out of the new uniforms..Thanks for the free pass for the Saturday too!! Came in handy to see the Hall of Fame ceremony. Top man and sound to boot!

What is the best UFC fight you have witnessed live ?

Where do you see the UFC in 10years time?

Keep up the great work on the site and keep those podcasts coming!

Kenny Bania

"Ask Me Anything!"

*avoids first 3 questions*

El Guapo!

Kenny Bania wrote: »

"Ask Me Anything!"

*avoids first 3 questions*

Mod: If you've nothing constructive to say, then don't say anything at all.

That_Guy

What advice would you give anybody wanting to embark on a career or hobby in MMA journalism?

Who in your opinion from the local scene is one to keep an eye on?

Have you any influential interviewers that influenced you to begin interviewing? (Horribly phrased question)

Well done on the continued growth and success of Severe MMA.

scudzilla

What's your relationship like with SbG and the Irish fighters in the UFC, can you still just call/text them and ask for an interview/quote or do they have media people. Particularly interested in how easy it is for you to get hold of Conor now compared to 18months ago

stephenl15

Do you have any advice for anyone going to 194

SDTimeout

Kenny Bania wrote: »

"Ask Me Anything!"

*avoids first 3 questions*

SDTimeout

That_Guy wrote: »

What advice would you give anybody wanting to embark on a career or hobby in MMA journalism?

Who in your opinion from the local scene is one to keep an eye on?

Have you any influential interviewers that influenced you to begin interviewing? (Horribly phrased question)

Well done on the continued growth and success of Severe MMA.

Do it! I started cos I wanted to find out more about fighters and no body else was doing it. There are a lot of spoofers in the UK and Irish scene. My advice would be don't be reactionary, i.e someone complains about something and you go and do that to try and get in good with the person complaining. Think of something original, if it's not gonna be original then try take a different approach to something that's been done. There's a guy called Duane Finlay who i'm friendly with, he does profile and feature pieces. He told me in Bahrain he likes to find out why guys want to fight, people aren't born wanting to fight. It's something inside them and it's interesting. He is a well respected dude and fighters have and do approach him personally do to something like that. Everybody can copy and paste BAMMA or Cage Warriors fight announcements,

Petesy does a facing McGregor series or stories of where fighters are now and they're amazing. There's only so much that can be done in Ireland, depending on your location in the country you could have a great access point to get into some gyms that don't have coverage. Do it quick though before I get petrol expenses :pac::pac:

Local scene I have a lot of names.

Decky McAleenan from my own gym and Padraig Magee are two good amatuers who you'll hear of over the next few years. Ross McCorriston from Next Gen, Arnaud Dos Santos, Rhys McKee from Next Gen too. Hughie O'Rourke from Team Ryano and the usual suspects from SBG of James Gallagher, Frans, Tommy Martin, Alex Brophy, Sam Cronin Slater and Lee Hammond. Lee is making his debut sometime this year and i'm really excited, he has some of the best BJJ in the country. Leah McCourt from FAI is a star in the making too, let's hope she can put it all together over the next two years.

Pro wise some of those guys above are about to turn pro but I'm big on Sean Tobin, Kieran O'Brien, Darren O'Gorman, Karl Moore. Hopefully guys like Mulpeter, Fields and Queally finish the year strong too and have good 2016's.


Ariel was the guy who influenced me most but I got to hang out and become friendly with Showdown Joe this week too and he was the guy who I saw first before I'd heard of Ariel. So that was pretty cool.

Thank you, would you believe I still don't have a SevereMMA T-Shirt.